Dean Clement Melanson (born November 19, 1973) is a Canadian retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He played 9 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

between 1995 and 2001. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1993 to 2008, was spent in the minor leagues and in Europe.

Biography

Melanson was born in

Antigonish, Nova Scotia Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Halif ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1985 and 1986

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from Antigonish. Melanson was drafted in the fourth round, 80th overall, by the

in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Melanson appeared in only nine games in the NHL: five with the Sabres in the 1994–95 season and four with the

in the 2001–02 season. In his brief NHL career, Melanson went scoreless and recorded eight penalty minutes. The majority of his professional career was spent in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, where he won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

in 1996 with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

. He also suited up for teams in the International Hockey League, Germany's

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...

, the

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a semi-Professional sports league organization, professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdu ...

and the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

. He also had a spell in Italy for the

Milano Vipers Hockey Club Junior Milano Vipers was an Italian professional ice hockey team from Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, sec ...

. Melanson ended his professional career after playing 11 games with

British Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

team the

Basingstoke Bison The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the National Ice Hockey League , NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite I ...

in the 2007–08 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people Binghamton Senators players Basingstoke Bison players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Acadian descent Chicago Wolves (IHL) players HC Milano players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Iserlohn Roosters players Kassel Huskies players Muskegon Fury players Sportspeople from Antigonish, Nova Scotia Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players Quebec Rafales players Rochester Americans players Saint-Hyacinthe Laser players Washington Capitals players {{canada-icehockey-defenceman-1970s-stub